Romano-British Kent - Roads - V.C.H. of Kent - Vol. 3 Page 135 KENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY -- RESEARCH Studying and sharing Kent's past Homepage Victoria County History of Kent Vol. 3 1932 - Romano-British Kent - Roads - Page 135 The course of the road from Dover to Canterbury, a distance of 14 miles according to the Antonine Itinerary, is by River and Temple Ewell to Lydden, where the modern road branches to the west. Harris, in 1719, saw the Roman road in several places north of Lydden, and the route can then be traced by alignment and parish boundaries to Barham Downs, where Stukeley described it as a high ridge of flint and chalk in use as the common road. Beyond Mileï¿½ stone Farm, the modern road bends eastward, and the course of the Roman road, followed by a parish boundary, continues past the ï¿½Gateï¿½ Inn to Canterbury, where it entered probably on the site of the Riding Gate.

Dover and Richborough were in communication by a road running almost in a straight line through Pineham, Napchester, Studdal, Betteshanger, Eastry and Woodnesborough. For the most part of the way it is now just a track, followed for long stretches by parish boundaries, but for a mile at Eastry it coincides with the main road. North of Woodnesborough the road disappears (except perhaps for a short stretch near Fleet Farm); possibly it joined the Richborough to Canterbury road near Cooper Street, close to the causeway or bridge that ran between the island of Richborough and the mainland (see p. 35). This causeway carried a road from Richborough to Canterbury, passing eastward of Ickham. Its line cannot definitely be traced, though the road is indicated in the Antonine Itinerary, but it seems likely that the straight stretch of road, west of Littlebourne, from Oldridge Wood past St. Martinï¿½s Church to Canterbury is part of it. There are traces of an earthwork in Fishpoolhill Wood on the south side of the road and close to Oldridge Wood. It has been suggested by Mr. S. E.

Winbolt2 that at Ash the road branches northï¿½east to Cooper Street, meeting the Richborough causeway at Fleet Farm. Another road that is now hard to trace ran from Canterbury to Reculver; its course may have been via Fordwich3 (there is now a footpath from Fordwich to Canterbury that may represent it), where the Stour was crossed, Buckwell, Maypole, and Hillborough to Reculver. It would not have been impossible for the Romans to have constructed a road between Richborough and Reculver, but it would have been an enormous task and scarcely worth the trouble; the only practicable route would have been by way of Chislet, Upstreet, and Grove on the banks of the Wantsum Channel, and then at least three waterways would have had to be negotiated. The course of the Stone Street from Lympne to Canterbury, a distance of 16 miles according to the Itinerary, is uncertain for the first part, but its line can be found at Shipway Cross in a footpath to New Inn Green; it then proceeds by Westenhanger Racecourse to the junction of the road to Postling.

Here it leaves its straight alignment and bends eastward, apparently to secure an easier gradient up a hill rising to 6oo ft., and more protection from any attack from the high ground to the north. For the next 10 miles it runs in a cont'd from page 134b the only road really entitled to be called Watling Street, doubtless being so designated (or Wading) in the Saxon Age. All other ï¿½Wading Streetsï¿½ have been so named by different generations of antiquaries. The ancient name of the Kentish London Road seems to have been Casincg Street. See F. Haverfield, Chester Arch. Journ. vi, 40, 249, Encyci. Brit.11th. ed. s.v. ï¿½Wading Street,ï¿½ and The Roman occupation of Britain (1924), p. 64. Hist. Mons. Comm. Inventory of Roman London, p. 51. 2 Roman Folkestone, p.

154 3 The present road from Sturry, by Upstreet, Sarre Wall, Sarre, and Monkton, to Ramsgate is sometimes said to be on the line of a Roman road; but such a road, even if it kept to the north bank of the Great Stour as far as Upstreet, would have had to negotiate the Wantsum Channel, a mile and a half wide. It is worth noting, however, that this road was called ï¿½Dunstretï¿½ in 1414. When the Romans built roads in England, they ran in practically straight lines between strategic locations many miles apart. How did they know, if starting in London, which direction to point in to build a straight road to, say, Dover? | Notes and Queries | guardian.co.uk YESTERYEAR When the Romans built roads in England, they ran in practically straight lines between strategic locations many miles apart. How did they know, if starting in London, which direction to point in to build a straight road to, say, Dover? BY NOT starting in London, or at Dover. By finding some high point in the middle and looking both ways.

The middle and main part of this itinerary is the remarkably direct route between Greenwich Park and Canterbury. On the high ground northwest of the Medway crossing there are a few points, e.g. Telegraph Hill and Shorne Ridgeway, where one can see both Shooters Hill, which overlooks Greenwich, and Dunkirk Hill, which overlooks Canterbury. In essence, there is a fore-and-aft line-up with a definable direction. This overall bearing is not discernible from anywhere on the road itself, yet it is the master bearing of Watling Street Greenwich to Canterbury, Greenwich Park to Stonewood Pass, and two other main courses east of the Medway - and the referee of all the rest. This is typical of Roman route articulation. As standard practice, Roman highway engineers converted a sighting offered by nature into a formal bearing and transferred that, or calculated balancing variants thereof, to places of useful application, generally lower down, and sometimes at a considerable remove. Alec McColm, Upper Bourne End, Bucks. ALEC McCOLM'S explanation might apply to the Roman road between London and Dover, but it would not explain the remarkable sense of direction which the Romans seemed to show when much greater distances were involved.

How did they know, for instance, that they had to strike out north-west from London to get to Chester? Watling Street, although it proceeds in a series of shallow zig-zags, is never very far from the direct line between those two towns. A similar precision is shown by the Fosse Way, which lies on an almost dead straight line from Ilchester in Somerset to Leicester. Ian Freeman, Ravensden, Bedford. THE ROMANS built on the paths created since prehistoric times. These paths, latterly endowed with magical properties by some rather fanciful thinkers, were laid down by surveyors using sighting poles. Many of these were surveyed by Alfred Watkins in 1920 and recorded in his book, The Old Straight Track, published in 1925. The early creators of the paths realised the need for good, planned communications, unlike the present Government. John Garratt, Amersham, Bucks. THE ROMANS left us miles of roads but not a word as to their surveying and building them.

The "explanations' you have printed cannot account for the fact that a line drawn on a map from Lindum (Lincoln) through Ratae (Leicester) and continued, goes straight to Aquae Sulis (Bath) and Lindinis (Ilchester) and beyond. Furthermore, the length from Lindum to Lindinis is the base of an isosceles triangle with its apex on Londinium. This line is that of the Fosse and the road deviates from it only very slightly. Peter Ecker, Breston, Derby. THE PROBLEM about very long Roman roads can be solved if you imagine that you are a Roman surveyor and consider what you have to hand - lots of legionaries, flags which are simple to manufacture, plenty of wood for beacons or fires to make smoke signals. Flags, trumpets and smoke codes pass messages between outposts having line of sight. When the legions invaded Britain they would have followed the routes taken by the British, using local guides. Many years later when they came to build roads they would have known the rough layout of the countryside. The method of straightening a known route is not difficult.

Send a squad on to each ridge along the route and raise a flag wherever they are. If a squad cannot see the flags on each side, send out another squad. Tell each squad to march along the ridge, until they are directly between the flags of the squads on each side of them, as explained by Alec McColm (see above). Move the flags to the new squad positions. Report problems such as fords, marshes, etc, to the surveyor by flags, trumpet or smoke signals, and receive his instructions. Repeat this as often as necessary. If there is hilly ground between two mountains, repeat the whole process, using the established positions on the mountains as end points, until all parts of the road can see a flag. On flat ground smoke from fires would show up better than flags. The whole process would take only a few weeks, or at most a summer season. (Dr) Dave Fawthrop, Bradford. They built the roads first, then the towns. Alison Harvey, London NW10 Roman Roads Chester - CheshireTrove CheshireTrove Roman Roads in and out of Chester. Descriptions of the routes will be expanded soon.

Click, or touch, below for roads from Chester to: The Road to North Wirral North The stretch of Roman road that has been discovered in the centre of the Wirral is along what is nowadays called Hargrave Lane, which refers to an old village or hamlet called Hargrave, which no longer exists (though it did in 1086, held, with its neighbour Neston, by Robert Cook, or Robt. Cocus as he is called in the Domesday Book). Hargrave Lane is to the west of Bromborough Golf Club, across the M53. If you follow the line south towards Chester, after a half kilometer break you find Street Hey Lane running in exactly the same direction in a dead straight line to the east of Willaston. Any name with Street, or one of its derivatives (Stretton, Stretford, or whatever), in Britain is almost certain to have Roman connections. There are a lot of Strettons about. There are also a lot of Eatons that seem to have Roman connections. There seems to be no obvious evidence of the line of the mid-Wirral road between about Little Sutton and Chester.

Following the line of Hargrave Lane northwards, it is very close to a tree-lined avenue running to the west of Clatterbridge Hospital and passing east of Brimstage, a straight line with a kink in it (if that's possible). This avenue turns off right to become the Lever Causeway towards Tranmere, but from this point (Little Storeton, straight ahead, it is known as Roman Road, first a track crossing Prenton Golf Course, then a normal road for a short distance through Prenton. Where would it be heading after Prenton? The next place in line is Noctorum, which sounds very Latin but is apparently from the Irish Cnoc Tirim meaning Dry Hill and refering to Bidston Hill on which it stands. This line moves on over the hill and down to Bidston Golf Course, close to where James Stonehouse has the old course of the Mersey running into the sea. You will notice there are quite a few golf courses on this route, and a great many in the Wirral as a whole. Maybe that's why the Romans wanted to be here. It is nowadays thought very probable that there was a port in this area from Roman times onwards.

A great number of Roman coins have been found washed up at Meols (between Birkenhead and Hoylake), together with pottery fragments and other artifacts of this age. Meols is a Viking name and the Vikings were prevalent in this area of north Wirral in the early 10th century. Several thousand items of Viking, Roman, Mediterranean and Asian origin have been discovered here, suggesting a great port (said to be the largest in the North-West of the country at the time), which traded with much of the known world. When they were digging the foundations for the Railway Hotel, a massive pub on the main road by Meols station, the workmen are said to have found the remains of a Viking longship. The find was hushed up at the time (1950s?) and the pub was built over it. I believe Stephen Harding, who is honoured by the Norwegian government for his tireless work in bringing the Viking history of this area to people's attention, is trying to do something about getting the boat excavated, though how you do that without knocking the pub down needs some thought.

The voice on the Liverpool to West Kirby Merseyrail line, by the way, says: "The next station it smells." Well it doesn't, but at least she's got the pronunciation right. Next to the Railway pub, running the very short distance to the sea, is a road called Roman Road, which seems unlikely but who knows? Why does Noctorum (Cnoc Tirim) have an Irish name? Wikipedia suggests that there was an Irish settlement here in the early 5th century, shortly after the Romans left Britain to save Rome. There were certainly Irish settlements in Viking times, centuries later: Irby was one, Liscard (Wallasey) another. The Irish were among the allies of the Norwegians and Danes. The Street from Chester to Frodsham and beyond North-East North of Mickle Trafford, a village to the north-east of Chester, is a road called The Street which runs in a south-west/north-easterly direction.

Any out-of-town road with Street in the name is almost certain to have Roman connections, and John (R.J.A.) Dutton, in his book Hidden Highways of Cheshire (1999, published by Gordon Emery) describes how he has spent many years as an amateur archeologist charting the courses of this and other roads (mediaeval as well as Roman) in Cheshire and North Wales. His conclusion with this road is that it ran from Chester to the crossing point of the Mersey at Wilderspool (Warrington), via Helsby and Frodsham. How it left Chester is not known, but two possibilities are that it branched off eastwards from north of the Northgate, along what is now Brook Lane to Mannings Lane, Newton, or that it left via the Eastgate and turned directly north and north-west, again to Mannings Lane. The Street, as marked on Ordnance Survey maps is an extension of Mannings Lane which runs north-east out of Chester from Hoole and Newton and past Mickle Trafford.

Dutton's route has the road cutting off across fields before Bridge Trafford to Dunham-on-the-Hill and closer to the crags of Helsby Hill than the modern road, past Frodsham Hill to Preston Brook, where it met a major route to Warrington. At Helsby, next to this suggested route, beneath the crags, a Roman altar stone was discovered. This is now in the Grosvenor Museum in Chester. The Road East from Chester East Watling Street ran from London along the route of the current A5 road as far as the Roman settlement at Wroxeter (Viroconium Cornoviorum) near Shrewsbury, and then turned north to Chester, via Whitchurch. It was later extended to run eastward, leaving Chester by the Eastgate (this is the one with the famous elaborate Victorian clock on the top, straddling the walkway along the walls. To be continued .....

The Suggested Road to Beeston and Beyond South-East Although there is little official mention of a road leaving Chester to the south-east, John Dutton in his book (mentioned above in connection with the north-east road to Warrington) suggests that such a road did exist in Roman times, and his thoughts seem convincing enough, especially when his route passes within a few yards of what appears to be the entrance to a Roman military training ground. To be continued ..... Watling Street from Deva to Mediolanum South The present Old Dee Bridge, which crosses from the Bridge Gate (at the bottom of Lower Bridge Street) to the separate village of Handbridge across the water, dates from 1387. It is Grade 1 listed and is a scheduled monument . It seems there was probably a bridge here in Roman times, a wooden structure on stone supports. By the time of Ethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, in the early 900s, any bridge had gone: there was only a ferry.

In the time of Hugh Lupus, 2nd Earl of Chester, in the 1070s and 80s, a new bridge was built, as reported in the Domesday Book of 1086. This again had a timber superstructure, which was swept away about 1279. It was another 100 years before the present sandstone bridge was built. The Hugh Lupus bridge had a drawbridge at the Handbridge end, which was deemed not necessary in 1387. 20km or so upstream from Chester are two villages on opposite banks of the river Dee, Farndon and Hope with an ancient red sandstone bridge between them. It is virtually identical to the Old Dee Bridge at Chester, and was built in 1339. It seems likely that this may have been the prototype of the Chester bridge. The Holt-Farndon bridge had a gate tower towards the centre, which was removed in the 18th century. You can see where the work was done to create a regular arch where the tower had been. The Iron Bridge to Eaton Hall .

The New Eaton Hall, Grosvenor Family Home The Old Tower remains a Distinct Landmark The River Dee at the Old Ford. Fancy a Paddle? So the stone and wood Roman bridge on the site of the later Old Dee Bridge carried Watling Street, which ran to Mediolanum (Whitchurch, Shropshire) and on to Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter, near Shrewsbury). This route crosses the river Dee twice, once at Chester and then again, not at Farndon but at Aldford (Old Ford). It would take a very brave or foolish person to ford the river nowadays at Aldford - there is a crossing point here, but it is a bridge ('Iron Bridge') which carries a private road to Eaton Hall, the Duke of Westminster's family home. You have to think that the course of the river must have been very different in those days, more spread out and therefore shallower. I am toying with the vague idea that maybe the Dee split into two branches here, the western branch flowing via Pulford to the tidal estuary at what is now called Sealand (this is, literally, land reclaimed from the sea).

The two paths would have created an island, which might explain the name Eaton in the Eaton Estate. The name 'Eaton' generally refers to a settlement on an island (Ea or eye: island; Ton: town, settlement). There seem to be a lot of Eatons which are associated with Roman activity. The current Whitchurch Road from Chester is the A41, which looks to be a much more sensible route than crossing a major river twice. The A41 does, however, run through the middle of what looks likely to be a military training ground at Waverton, three miles south-east of Chester, as mentioned in the River Gowy pages. This information is from a book called Waverton: A History of its People and Places, editor John Whittle. Completely independently, in a book called Hidden Highways of Cheshire, RJA Dutton suggests a Roman road passing right in front of its entrance gate and crossing the A41 to Waverton and Beeston and beyond. Two 'maybe's like this seem to me to turn into a big 'very likely' and deserves some further investigation. Look at the South-East road to Beeston and Chesterton above.

(The link opens a new window, so close it afterwards). To be continued ..... h2g2 - Roman Roads In Britain Today - Edited Entry Roman Roads In Britain Today Content from the guide to life, the universe and everything Roman Roads In Britain Today Created Watling Street | The Fosse Way | Ermine Street | Stane Street | Roman Roads Today We are fortunate to have so much of the Roman road network left in Britain. Of the roads that we know of (there are about 80% 1 that can be traced) the original main routes through, can be traced with some certainty by their alignment. Large parts of the less well-known roads have been lost due to ploughing out, or development. Some roads near rivers or in areas with soft ground may have simply been absorbed by the landscape. So the course of some roads have had to be reconstructed form the route of ancient lanes and rights of way. Also paths through old woodlands (bridle paths often called rides in old documents) and sections such as the Roman Iter II route (better known by its Anglo-Saxon name, Watling Street) which now form major roads today (in this case the A5) have been used to reconstruct the route.

Placenames can often provide a clue as well as the archaeological records of the area and this often enables us to piece together the route. There is no doubt that there was a network of smaller roads, tracks and service ways that have been lost without hope of recovery. The evidence that we do have is also locked in the landscape; this can be revealed by the study of field boundaries, ancient hedgerows, monuments and the position of isolated settlements. The best way to trace the route of the road over today's landscape is with a map as you read the Entry. Watling Street Watling Street : from Dover or Richborough to Leintwardine and from Stone Street to Caerleon on Usk From Richborough to Canterbury the modern A257 is the closest route to Watling Street. Dover to Canterbury follows the A2 and then the A2050, but both roads are far from direct and loop widely to either side of the original route. From Canterbury the unclassified road Church Hill and Faulkners Lane follow closest to the Roman route. Cross the A2050 east of Upper Harbeldown and join the road named Roman Road.

This passes through Upper Harbeldown and joins the A2 which continues to Ospringe and Faversham. From the junction A2 and A299, Watling Street is known as the A2 Canterbury Road and leaves Faversham as the London Road. It passes through Sittingbourne as the A2 and the road skirts town the line of the road preserved in High Street and East Street. Watling Street continues as the A2, passing out of the town through Keycol Village. The road continues as the A2 until the A278 junction near Chatham is known for a brief stretch as Watling Street as it passes through Rochester The A5 has various names but crosses the Medway River as High Street. The A2 leaves Rochester as Watling Street, but when it reaches the junction of Southfleet Road it passes south of the site of Roman Springhead which is near modern Swanscombe. When the A2 passes north of the village of Bean it branches north as the A296 Roman Road. At the Princes Road junction it branches north again as Watling Street, and, as the A226, passes through Crayford.

Watling Street continues on to London along the route of the A207 south of the River Thames. From London the A5 Edgware Road 2 and passes through Brockley Hill and changes to the A5183 as it crosses the A41. Just north of Elstree the A5183 changes name to Watling Street and turns north-west on the way to St Albans. As Watling Street approaches St Albans, it stops suddenly at its junction with Watford Road and St Stephen's Hill. The A5183 turns north-west of Watling Street up St Stephen's Hill and turns north-east on Verulam Road, continuing into Redbourn Road and rejoining the original course of Watling Street 400 metres south of Hogg End Lane. Watling Street continues as the A5183 Redbourn Road and St Albans Road. When the road reaches the outskirts of the town of Redbourne, it continues as Redbourne High Street and Dunstable Road. The A518 takes a large curving detour to the eastern side of Watling Street, and rejoins the road 60 metres west of Luton Lane.

Watling Street changes identity from the A5185 to the A5 as it crosses the M1. At the Chequers Hill junction the A5 runs south of Watling Street for 1.2 miles. The A5 then crosses north of Watling Street at Green Lane and runs to the north of the original route for a mile. The original road passes through the town of Markyate, in the area north of the High Street and the A5. Watling Street continues into Dunstable as the A5, through Hockliffe and south of the A5 through Little Brickhill, but south of Wyness Avenue the road is lost here for approximately 1.5 miles. At the A4146 junction the A5 runs north of Watling Street to the junction of the A508. Watling Street runs through Fenny Stratford, Stony Stratford and Old Stratford, following the A5 from the A508 junction before continuing into Towcester. Watling Street continues on the A5 with slight variations to Weedon.

From Weedon the course of Watling follows the A5, with slight deviations just north of Weedon and the west of Norton with the largest deviation round Daventry, where the road passes through and under the rail terminal. From Daventry to Atherstone the A5 and Watling Street follow the same route, at Atherstone Watling Street follows Witherley Road and Long Street before rejoining the A5 at Holly Lane. At the M42 junction Watling Street runs south of the A5 through Wilnecote, Two Gates and Frazeley rejoining the A5 just west of Bangley. The A5 follows the route of Watling Street until Redhill Near Telford, where it is lost under the town's suburbs. The probable route was through St George's and Okengates to Ketley, and along the A5 to Wroxeter near Shrewsbury. Then, on local roads to the Stratford Bridge Camp, Leintwardine Kenchester, the route of the road is confused in this section and there is too much speculation to be sure of the exact route.

Stone Street Local roads: The Continuation of Watling Street Into Wales Stone Street: 3 : from Brecon Gaer The Roman Fort at Pen-Y-Gaer to the Roman fort at Abergavenny and Caerleon on Usk. The road south into Wales. The Fosse Way The Fosse Way : from Exeter to Lincoln: The western road to the north. Take the A30 that runs out of Exeter to Honiton, this follows the approximate route of the Fosse Way. The road then splits: the direct route to Ham Hill is approximated by the A303, but the Fosse Way ran to the south (passing close to Chard). The indirect route follows the line of the A35 to Axminster, then north on the A358 to join the A30 and the direct route. The route continues on the A303 to Shepton Mallet, then on to Ilchester still on the A37. Stay on the A37 and join the A367 Bath Road to Nettlebridge that runs to the west of the Fosse Way.

From its junction with Rock Road it runs on Fosse Way to where the A367 turns west and continues south-east of the Fosse Way, (the Fosse Way to Camerton is lost beneath the fields), then back on the A367 into Bath. It is probable that the Fosse Way then passed via North Wraxall to Nettleton, then on to Easton Grey and Cirencester. The A46 and the A433 pass to the west of the Fosse Way From Cirencester, the A429 follows the course of the road in spirit - if not in fact - to Bourton-on-the-Water. The A429 then to shifts to the east of the Fosse Way as it heads to Moreton-in-the-Marsh. The A429 is named the Fosse Way from Moreton-in-the-Marsh up to three miles south of Ettington, where it becomes a minor road. The Fosse way continues to Chesterton on Fosse and High Cross on the A5 (Watling Street).

It is probable the Fosse way then passed via open fields and lanes to join the Coventry Road at its junction with Leicester Road, then into Leicester. The A46 follows the route of the Fosse Way into Willoughby-on-the-Wolds and then on to East Bridgeford, East Stoke/Thorpe by Newark and Brough then the A46 joins the A4134 into Lincoln. Local Road Lincoln to the coast From Lincoln to Horncastle the road has gone but it was possible it passed to the north of Bardney and on into Horncastle. The A518 from Horncastle to Skegness is the closest route although there has been a shift to the north the original Roman roads. The Roman Ferry no longer exists The Peddars Way The road from Holm next to the Sea to Kempstone is hard to trace but the Fakenham Road from the A418 to Docking seems likely to have been part of the route. Ermine Street Ermine Street : from London to Lincoln: The eastern road north. Start this journey by taking the A10 out of London towards Braughing.

Then join the Roman road just to the east of the A10 signposted to Buntingford to Royston where Ermine Street. The A1198 can be used to travel towards Wimpole Lodge and on to Godmanchester. Use the A1 and A1(M) to Water Newton as they are very close to the Roman route (apart from the Stilton bypass). The road from Water Newton to Great Casterton is the A1, otherwise known as the Great North Road. This road passes to the west of modern Saltersford and the Roman road leaves the A1 at its junction with the A151. It then picks up the line of a road known as High Dyke. There is a bit of a bulge to the west near Colsterworth, but try to visualise the road continuing over the fields. The High Dyke continues towards Ancaster but when it reaches the A153 crossroads just south of the town, the road changes its name to Ermine Street. Ermine Street passes through Ancaster and becomes High Dyke again just north of the town.

The road disappears when it reaches the A17: however, there is a private road running through fields that follows the course of the road. You will have to go north on the A607 into Lincoln, though Ermine Street is likely to have taken a straight course north passing through RAF Waddington through Canwick and into Lincoln. From Lincoln, Ermine Street follows the A15 to Owmby, apart for the detour east, round another airfield at Hackthorn Cliff. Still on the A15, head north to Hibaldstow, passing of the west of the modern town. The A15 passes over the M180 and ends at the A18 junction. You can clearly see the route of the Roman road in the field pattern, between the junction and Appleby Lane. The modern road turns east and then north to follow Scawby Road, High Street (Broughton) and then Appleby Lane, before turning north and becoming Ermine Street again. Just north of Appleby Village, Ermine Street becomes a lane: it crosses Roxby Causeway and then Holmes lane.

At this point, approximately two and-a-half miles to the east of Ermine Street, and to the east of Roxby Road (in the fields South of Thealby Lane at its junction with Roxby Road) lies the Winterton Villa Estate - a large villa with mosaics and some outbuildings. From the junction with Holmes Lane, Ermine Street continues past Leys Lane and Ings Lane to the junction with the A1077. Ermine Street continues a short way on the A1077 (Crockthorne Lane) and then becomes Ermine Street, turning north at the A1077 Sluce Lane junction. Ermine Street then continues into Winteringham, the site of the southern Roman Humber ferry terminal. To get to the next point, the best route is Scunthorpe, Eastoft to Goole (then joining the M62 followed by the A63 to Brough). The Ferry no longer exists Ermine Street North of the Humber Brough-on-Humber is the northern Roman Humber ferry terminal. Ermine Street continues to York across country but this part of the route is now hard to follow.

Stane Street Local Road: The start of the central road north. Bosham via Fishbourne to Chichester on the A259. Stane Street (And Other Roads): from Bosham to Lincoln. Chichester: At the A285 to Ides Common the road disappears - it is probable that it went via Bignor and joined the A29 (Stane Street) near Watersfield. Arriving at Hardham you reach the A29 (Stane Street) to Alfoldean at the junction of the A29 and the A218. From Alfoldean the route is lost, (although there is a short stretch between Oakwood and Jayes Park) it is probable it then passed to the east of Dorking, Leatherhead and Epsom through Langley Vale and into Ewell. The closest likely modern route to London from Ewell is the A24. The Fen Causeway To Longthorpe the road is under Peterborough and can't be seen.

The probable route to Downham West (Denver) is a cross-country one through Westry, Threeholes and Nordleigh: you will have to use the A47 and the A1122 to the north. The A1122 is close to the original route to Kempstone (apart from the detour round Marham airfield), but from the junction of the A1122 and the A47 it's guesswork (possibly via Great Palgrave and Great Dunham). The Peddars Way From Kempstone to Holme next to the sea is hard to trace, but the Fakenham Road from the A418 to Docking seems likely to have been part of the route. A Ferry no longer exists Local Roads From Skegness to Horncastle the A518 is the closest route, although there has been a shift to the north of the Roman roads. From Horncastle to Lincoln the road has gone but it was possible it passed to the north of Bardney and on into Lincoln.

British Road List Icknield Street or Ryknild Street: 124 miles King Street: 40 miles Welcome to Discovering Shropshire's History Wroxeter (image) [ + ] Wroxeter After the Romans had conquered Britain they quickly set about Romanising it. That is, introducing Roman customs, government and above all Roman towns to encourage the native people to adopt a Roman identity. It was hoped that introducing the Roman way of life and the advantages it could bring would deter them from rising up in rebellion. One of the most important ways in which the Romans established their way of life was in the introduction of towns. Prior to the invasion Britons had lived in small communities often made up of a series of family groups and much of their lifestyle had been agricultural and self-sufficient. The Romans quickly set about building towns as places from which to govern the people they had conquered. As they moved further inland they built more towns and connected them with an efficient road system. Roman towns were much more advanced than the British settlements, with street layouts, bath houses, shops and government buildings.

Shropshire was important in the Roman period in that it became home to the fourth largest walled Roman city in Britain, behind London, Cirencester and St Albans. This town was known to the Romans as Viroconium but we now call it Wroxeter. Viroconium Aerial view of Wroxeter (image) [ + ] Aerial view of Wroxeter At its peak Viroconium was home to more than 6,000 inhabitants and has been described as one of the best examples of 2nd century AD town planning. The town at Viroconium is entirely of Roman origin and probably started in around AD 47 as a base for Roman troops trying to push deeper into Britain. A small auxiliary fort just to the south of the later town may date from this period, as may one or more of a number of temporary marching camps in the immediate area of the later town. The site was strategically located at the point where the River Severn could be crossed by a wide ford. Watling Street, an important Roman Road running from London ran to Wroxeter from the north east.

From Wroxeter further roads ran to the south west into Gloucestershire, to the north to Chester, and later to the west into central Wales. It was at that early time situated on the western edge of the Roman Empire forming part of the frontier with the still unconquered British tribes in Wales. The fort at Wroxeter might have have started out as a temporary encampment but in AD 58 Emperor Nero decided to try and secure the Roman frontier by conquering the adjoining Welsh lands. This would have changed the military purpose of the site from temporary camp to permanent garrison, and by the mid 50s AD a fortress had been founded at Wroxeter. Bath Complex Wroxeter (image) [ + ] Bath Complex Wroxeter Once life settled down in Roman Britain the role of the settlement at Wroxeter would have changed once again. By the late 1st century, Viroconium would have already had quite a large civilian population as they would have been drawn by the relative safety of the fort and by the financial opportunities of trading with the Roman troops.

Viroconium would also have had its own administration and been fairly autonomous (self-governing) and soon developed into the capital of the Cornovian Britons. The city layout began to expand along the typical Roman grid pattern and a law court, market place and public baths were all installed in this early stage of the city�s development. The greatest period of expansion for Viroconium began in the early 2nd century and was to continue for almost the whole of that century. This phase saw the construction of a civic centre, together with a basilica (assembly hall) and a very large and impressive bath complex. Plunge Pool Wroxeter (image) [ + ] Plunge Pool Wroxeter By the end of the 2nd century the ditches and ramparts which enclosed Viroconium extended for over 2 miles and many more houses and other buildings had been constructed. It had flourished to become Britain�s 4th largest city. The late 3rd century saw a downturn in the fortunes of Wroxeter as the country went through a period of unrest. Numerous incursions by barbarian tribes and mounting maintenance costs led to much of Wroxeter falling into disrepair.

By the beginning of the 5th century BC the last of the legions had been withdrawn from this part of the Roman Empire and Britain was left on her own to deal with the threat of Saxon invasion. Strangely, once the troops had left Wroxeter it underwent something of a revival in that the bath house and basilica were renovated and a new hall constructed. It is not known who ordered this work but some scholars suggest that by this time it may have been the base of the legendary King Arthur. The city is believed to have been finally vacated sometime between AD 500 and AD 650. Mediolanum (Whitchurch) Whitchurch Roman burials (image) [ + ] Whitchurch Roman burials Wroxeter, although the largest, is not the only Roman settlement in Shropshire. Whitchurch, 20 miles to the north of Shrewsbury, has it�s origins as a Roman town known as Mediolanum. The name means, �place in the middle� and it was at a major crossroads of routes to Shrewsbury, Chester, London and Wroxeter.

The town was established in c.AD 70 by the Romans on a site halfway between Viriconium (Wroxeter) and Deva (Chester). Several timber-framed buildings with industrial usage had been established by the 2nd century. There were also two wells in operation covered by small rectangular buildings. Substantial stone buildings were erected in the late 2nd to early 3rd centuries, when the town was at its most productive. Smaller stone buildings were being constructed at the beginning of the 4th century. A small excavation took place in the front garden of 3 Roman Way, Whitchurch in 1985. The remains of a small Roman (A.D. 43 - 450) structure were uncovered built from Roman pot tile and packed with sandstone, sealed with mortar. A second excavation in the back garden revealed two small pits containing cremated bone and large quantities of potsherds. These finds were part of a Roman burial ground, originally dug outside of the Roman town of Mediolanum (Whitchurch). Today the town still retains some of its Roman layout and the High Street follows the line of the Roman road.

Roman Lead Mining Linley Hill (image) [ + ] Linley Hill There is some evidence that the Romans mined for lead in Shropshire in the hills around Shelve. The lead from these hills is particularly poor in silver content, there being only around 2.5 ounces in each ton of processed lead. At least 5 lead pigs have been recovered from the area, each with the words IMP HADRIANI AUG moulded into the upper surface, proclaiming them the property of the Emperor Hadrian (AD 117 � 138). Roman forts and marching camps At Stretford Bridge, near Craven Arms, there is a Roman fort strategically situated at the junction of several ancient trackways. The fort measured 515ft from north-west to south-east by 320ft, and enclosed an area of 3.75 acres. It may have been set up as the winter quarters of the force which occupied a nearby temporary camp at Craven Arms in c.AD 48/49. The fort is large enough to have housed a �cohors quingenaria�, a 1500 man auxiliary infantry regiment.

There are also several Roman marching camps in the area; two at Stretford Bridge and Craven Arms, one more at Upper Affcot and another one 5 miles away at Bromfield. As well as ones at Quatt (SE of Bridgnorth), Uffington (E of Shrewsbury) and Burlington (NE of Telford). Roman villas Roof Slates from Yarchester (image) [ + ] Roof Slates from Yarchester Roman villas in Shropshire are rare but there are examples at Acton Scott, Yarchester, Cruckton, Lea Cross and Whitley Grange. The villa building at Acton Scott lies on a south-facing slope above a stream. The building is aligned precisely east-west and appears to have had later additions to the west end. A small bath house was also incorporated within the south-west corner. Given the proximity of the Romano-British lead mining complex at Linley, about 4 miles to the west, it is very likely that the villa building here is associated with the production of lead, possibly as the residence of the person in charge of operations.

Yarchester Villa Mosaic (image) [ + ] Yarchester Villa Mosaic The villa at Yarchester (NW of Much Wenlock) consisted of rooms arranged around a central courtyard and it may have been fronted by a colonnade. Part of the villa had a hypocaust (Roman underfloor heating) system and it would appear that the villa was at least partly roofed with lozenge shaped slates. A late 4th century mosaic was also discovered in the room that was most likely the dining room and a variety of pottery sherds from domestic vessels have also been found. Whitley Grange Roman villa (SW of Shrewsbury) was first identified as such in 1893, when a dense collection of Roman tufa and tile suggested the possibility of a bath house. Fieldwalking and geophysics established the presence of well preserved remains of hypocausted rooms, which suggested a bath house complex. The bath house appears to have been built in the 3rd century with some work done in the 4th. In 1995 a mosaic was discovered in a room to the south-west of the bath house and this has been dated to the third quarter of the 4th century.

The main colours of the mosaic are red, white and green and the central medallion was originally decorated with a bust of Medusa (a mythological creature with snakes for hair who could turn men to stone just by looking at her). The residential part of the villa would appear to consist of a service corridor and only three rooms, not large enough for permanent habitation. It may be that the residential wing lies undiscovered elsewhere on the site or that the remains are that of a country retreat or somewhere to relax at weekends. Lea Cross Roman villa was first discovered in 1793 then rediscovered in 1956 and partially excavated in 1969. The excavation revealed at least three stages of construction within the site. The first phase consisted of a large building with walls 4ft thick, it was probably the site of the bath house. The second phase used the foundations of the first building, which was now ruinous. The floor level was raised by 2ft and rubble infills containing 3rd century pottery were found. The building was now probably used for industrial purposes or again as part of a bath complex.

The third phase involved the construction of a large timber outhouse against the NE corner of the original building. Very few pottery sherds from the 4th century were discovered from the site, which suggests that it had been abandoned by this time. Roman roads in Shropshire Watling Street (image) [ + ] Watling Street As the Romans built their villas and laid down their towns throughout Britain they also set up communication networks between them. Roman roads were highly efficient and built to the straightest line possible so as to take the shortest route. The makeup of the road was also highly developed. A trench would be dug to the length and width of the road. A layer of large stones was then laid down. This was followed by a layer of large pebbles, sand and cement, which was pressed down to make a solid base. The final layer was made up of stones fitted together very tightly to create an even surface. At the sides of the road stone lined channels were dug to drain away any surface water. In Shropshire there are 4 routes of Roman roads that can be followed today. The first, and probably the most famous, is Watling Street, which ran from London to Wroxeter.

Watling Street was one of the first major Roman roads in Britain and was built in the 1st century AD, soon after the Roman conquest. It was later extended to run from London to the port at Dover. From Wroxeter Watling Street ran north-west towards Mediolanum (Whitchurch) where it divided. The north-west route continued on into the Roman town of Deva (Chester), while the north-east route later crossed the River Mersey and continued as the West Coast road. ab05a [ + ] Roman bridge abutments at Acton Burnell To the south of Wroxeter was a roman road, which is sometimes described as Watling Street West, and this ran to Magna (Kenchester) via Bravonium (Leintwardine), both in Herefordshire and then on to Isca (Caerleon) in South Wales To the south of Shrewsbury is a Roman road which crosses the River Severn near Montgomery. This was known as the Forden Gaer. There is also a Roman road near Newport (in between Shrewsbury and Stafford) which runs north to Whitchurch and onto Chester. This road is now the route of the modern A41.

These roads would have enabled communication, and more importantly trade, to occur between Shropshire and the rest of Roman Britain. It would have brought people into the area and with them new technologies and goods.

Question: Which Roman road ran from Chester to Dover
Answer: Watling Street